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Islamic State Takes Responsibility for Killing of Japanese Man in Bangladesh - WSJ
Islamic State Takes Responsibility for Killing of Japanese Man in Bangladesh
Kunio Hoshi shot while en route to agricultural project he ran near town of Rangpur; slaying comes days after another claimed by ISIS
ENLARGE
Bangladeshi police officials stand guard at the site where a Japanese citizen was shot to death by attackers in Rangpur Saturday. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
By
Syed Zain Al-Mahmood
Updated Oct. 3, 2015 3:55 p.m. ET
7 COMMENTS
DHAKA, Bangladesh—Islamic State militants have taken responsibility for the killing of a Japanese citizen in northern Bangladesh on Saturday, the second foreigner the group claims to have gunned down in a week in this South Asian country.
Bangladeshi police said Kunio Hoshi, 65 years old, was shot by three masked assailants on a motorcycle as he was making his way to visit an agricultural project he ran in a suburb of the northern town of Rangpur.
In a statement posted on Twitter accounts known to be affiliated with Islamic State, the militant group said its operatives had killed Mr. Hoshi “after closely monitoring him” because he was a citizen of a “member country of the crusader coalition” against the extremist group.
Mr. Hoshi’s killing comes just days after Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella was gunned down in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone, in an attack that was also claimed by Islamic State.
Related Reading
There has been a string of deadly attacks on secular bloggers this year that have been claimed by Ansarullah Bangla Team, a little-known extremist group with ties to al Qaeda and now Islamic State that was banned by the government after the blogger killings.
Bangladesh’s government has insisted international militants won’t be allowed to operate inside the country. “IS doesn’t exist in Bangladesh,” Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the Home Minister said after the killing of Mr. Tavella. He was using an acronym for Islamic State. Police haven’t yet provided any motive for Mr. Tavella’s killing and no one has been arrested.
In Rangpur on Saturday, local police chief Rezaul Karim said the authorities were questioning witnesses to find clues to Mr. Hoshi’s shooting. The Japanese national, who had arrived in Bangladesh four months ago, was experimenting with a new variety of grass to feed livestock, the police chief said. He lived alone in a rented house and was on his way to visit the project site on a rickshaw when he was shot at close range by the masked men riding a motorcycle, Mr. Karim said.
The attacks are likely to have a chilling effect on the hundreds of nongovernment organizations that work in the development sector in Bangladesh. Based mainly in the rural areas, many organizations hire international experts who live in the community providing much-needed services in health, education and poverty-alleviation.
Write to Syed Zain Al-Mahmood at zain.al-mahmood@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications:
Police said Kunio Hoshi was shot by three unidentified assailants. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated his name as Hoshi Kunio.
Islamic State Takes Responsibility for Killing of Japanese Man in Bangladesh
Kunio Hoshi shot while en route to agricultural project he ran near town of Rangpur; slaying comes days after another claimed by ISIS
Bangladeshi police officials stand guard at the site where a Japanese citizen was shot to death by attackers in Rangpur Saturday. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
By
Syed Zain Al-Mahmood
Updated Oct. 3, 2015 3:55 p.m. ET
7 COMMENTS
DHAKA, Bangladesh—Islamic State militants have taken responsibility for the killing of a Japanese citizen in northern Bangladesh on Saturday, the second foreigner the group claims to have gunned down in a week in this South Asian country.
Bangladeshi police said Kunio Hoshi, 65 years old, was shot by three masked assailants on a motorcycle as he was making his way to visit an agricultural project he ran in a suburb of the northern town of Rangpur.
In a statement posted on Twitter accounts known to be affiliated with Islamic State, the militant group said its operatives had killed Mr. Hoshi “after closely monitoring him” because he was a citizen of a “member country of the crusader coalition” against the extremist group.
Mr. Hoshi’s killing comes just days after Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella was gunned down in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone, in an attack that was also claimed by Islamic State.
Related Reading
- Islamic State Claims Killing of Aid Worker in Bangladesh (Sept. 29)
- Russian Planes Make First Incursion into Islamic State Stronghold in Syria (Oct. 2)
- How to Defeat Religious Violence (Oct. 2)
There has been a string of deadly attacks on secular bloggers this year that have been claimed by Ansarullah Bangla Team, a little-known extremist group with ties to al Qaeda and now Islamic State that was banned by the government after the blogger killings.
Bangladesh’s government has insisted international militants won’t be allowed to operate inside the country. “IS doesn’t exist in Bangladesh,” Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the Home Minister said after the killing of Mr. Tavella. He was using an acronym for Islamic State. Police haven’t yet provided any motive for Mr. Tavella’s killing and no one has been arrested.
In Rangpur on Saturday, local police chief Rezaul Karim said the authorities were questioning witnesses to find clues to Mr. Hoshi’s shooting. The Japanese national, who had arrived in Bangladesh four months ago, was experimenting with a new variety of grass to feed livestock, the police chief said. He lived alone in a rented house and was on his way to visit the project site on a rickshaw when he was shot at close range by the masked men riding a motorcycle, Mr. Karim said.
The attacks are likely to have a chilling effect on the hundreds of nongovernment organizations that work in the development sector in Bangladesh. Based mainly in the rural areas, many organizations hire international experts who live in the community providing much-needed services in health, education and poverty-alleviation.
Write to Syed Zain Al-Mahmood at zain.al-mahmood@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications:
Police said Kunio Hoshi was shot by three unidentified assailants. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated his name as Hoshi Kunio.
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